


lie down with me, and hold me in your arms

by jayteejay



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Sickfic, and it's also my first ziam weeeeee, and kisses, i didn't know what to rate it because i said fuck so it's unrated, it's really cute tbh, ooh there's also some fluff, sick!zayn, there's always a pub involved somehow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-17
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-12-20 10:28:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/886186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayteejay/pseuds/jayteejay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And it's not even the illness that's making the boy feel shitty, it's the fact that everyone's out having a laugh and a pint but he's stuck at home in a pair of ratty sweatpants and socks because he's gotten to the stage where he's hot yet he's frozen solid." </p>
<p>or a story in which zayn should've listened to liam and liam doesn't rub it in his face when he gets sick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lie down with me, and hold me in your arms

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this at six in the morning because i couldn't sleep so forgive any and all errors that may occur. xx

Tonight was supposed to be the night that Zayn and the rest of his mates went out for a drink to celebrate Niall's engagement. Zayn was supposed to be knocking back shots and obnoxiously singing along to some song by the Runaways because _"Hello daddy, hello mom. I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!"_ never got old. But instead he was wrapped up in a blanket and watching a rerun of Friends because he didn't listen to Liam's advice when they'd all went to the park. He thought that wearing a jacket was stupid, no one else was wearing one, so why would he do it? Normally, Zayn's able to take care of himself when he's sick. He'd make himself some soup and call his mum to see what medicine would be best for him to take, maybe he'd use the Neti pot if it came to that. 

Bottom line, he'd be good. 

Tonight, he's not looking so hot. And it's not even the illness that's making the boy feel shitty, it's the fact that everyone's out having a laugh and a pint but he's stuck at home in a pair of ratty sweatpants and socks because he's gotten to the stage where he's hot yet he's frozen solid. As he pouts on the couch, the familiar sound of the locks from his front door begin to clink and rattle, like someone's fumbling around with the key. For a moment, Zayn freezes and he's about sure he's peed just a tad. He doesn't know who'd be entering his house. Sure, the boys have a key to his place but they're all at the pub, he'd gotten a confirmation when Liam called and passed the phone so they boys could wish him well and express their love for him. Zayn sheds the blanket from around his shoulders and picks up the nearest object, slowly tiptoeing over towards the front door. When it opens, he slings the object at the intruder but pauses when Liam doubles over and falls to the ground. 

"Christ Zayn!" Liam reaches an arm out and picks up the object that caused his pain. "A remote? Really?" 

Zayn offers him a sheepish smile before rushing over to his side to help him up, taking the remote from him and walking back into the family room. He tosses his makeshift weapon into the couch and replaces the blanket over his shoulders. A soft sigh escapes his lips as he just eyes Liam because why the fuck is he here and not out celebrating with Niall and the rest of their friends? Well, Zayn's pieced together that Liam wants to take care of him but he's a big boy and he's perfectly capable of doing it himself, thank you very much. 

"Li," Zayn says, though Liam just holds up a hand and stops Zayn from continuing on. 

"I don't even wanna hear it, just go sit on the couch. I'll have a bowl of soup ready in ten."

"But Liam-"

" _Go_ Zayn," Liam says firmly. 

And Zayn listens, because even though he doesn't want Liam  to baby him and miss out on Niall's celebration, he's grateful for the company because all of the talk about Phoebe and Rachel getting tattoos made him think that maybe tonight would be the night that Niall finally got some ink. Zayn stays in his spot, not really doing anything but sniffling occasionally and flipping through the channels when a show goes to commercial. Liam's already got something cooking on the stove and Zayn has no idea what it is but it smells _amazing_  and definitely something that's not in a can. He doesn't get up to investigate, though, just stays on the couch and waits patiently for the soup to be finished. 

Ten minutes into some special about dinosaurs, Zayn's asleep. He's not knocked out but he's definitely curled up against the arm of the couch and his lips are parted. So far, he's dreaming of riding a dinosaur and using a lesser dominate dinosaur's meat for a soup that tastes like the smell of Liam's soup. It's not the most rational dream that Zayn's ever had but he tends to dream weird whenever he's got a bug. Soon, the dinosaur is fading and the pterodactyl screeches are being replaced with a soft voice asking him very sweetly to wake up because he needs to eat and take his medicine. Zayn rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, and once the sleeps' out of them, he's eye level with Liam who's smiling at him. 

"Soup's still on the stove, can you eat?" Liam asks, leaning forward to brush a bit of hair from Zayn's forehead. Zayn just nods in response, too lethargic for words at the moment, but that doesn't bother Liam who's already getting to his feet to go into the kitchen. 

Zayn forced himself into a seated position as Liam returns with a bowl in one hand and a bottle of Gatorade in the other. He sets the latter on the coffee table and sits next to Zayn with the bowl, handing it to him once the other boys gives him a small smile. Zayn mixes the soup around with his spoon and eyes the different ingredients - broccoli, potatoes, a few bits of bacon, and the base is creamy. Definitely creamy. He raises a brow at the soup because when the _fuck_  did he get all of these ingredients? He doesn't recall Liam walking in with a grocery bag but then again, he was too busy getting his heart rate to return to its normal pace to really notice anything in his hands. 

"Does it not look good?" Liam asks, and Zayn's confused at his question but realizes that's he's stirring the soup with one eyebrow raised, which does make it look like he's skeptical about Liam's dish. 

"No, it looks good Li." Liam's face softens. "I was just seeing what was in it." 

Zayn spoons up a bit of it and slides it between his lips, instantly dipping the spoon back in for another bite. Liam just watches him tear up the soup, and it would've been funny if he had known when the last time Zayn's consumed a proper meal - but he doesn't, so he just waits until he's finished with the bowl to ask. 

"Um," Zayn begins (and Liam already doesn't like how he has to think back on it), "I had a slice of toast and a cuppa yesterday morning. Couple of crackers and some juice for dinner that night. More crackers and juice this morning. I couldn't quite keep a sandwich down." 

Zayn sets the empty bowl down on the table and yawns a little, wanting nothing more to get some more sleep. He'd been up almost the whole night because of how horrid he was feeling, and maybe the Ghost Adventures marathon had a little something to do with it as well. Liam's up and back into the kitchen before Zayn even has a chance to inform his mate of his fatigue and he's returning with a bottle that he's pretty sure he already had in his cabinet. Liam breaks the seal on the bottle and shakes out two pills, handing them and the Gatorade to Zayn. 

"I called my mum while I was at the store and she suggested you take this and get some rest." 

Zayn nods and pops the pills in his mouth, swallowing them down with a few sips of his drink. He sets the bottle down on the table and grins at Liam, albeit a little lazily, but it's a smile all the same. There's been times where Zayn's sat back and thought about how great his friends were but this is definitely something he's going to remember. Liam, here in his apartment instead of some pub with the rest of his lads, taking care of his sick self. 

Zayn doesn't even hesitate when he leans forward and presses a kiss to Liam's cheek, yet when he pulls away, the blush rising in Liam's cheeks _does_ make him think about what he's just done. It's just a cheek peck, though. No actual harm done. It isn't until Liam's resting a hand on Zayn's sweatpants clad knee and stealing an actual kiss from him that he realizes that he's really kissing Liam and it's a lot better than he's dreamed about. For a moment, Zayn lets it happen, but he realizes why Liam's here in the first place, and he's pushing gently at Liam's chest to create a space between the two again. 

"The last thing I need is for you to catch what I've got. What if for some reason Harry and Lou wanna go out for their four month and twenty something day anniversary?" Zayn tuts, deciding that he could just cuddle into Liam's side instead. 

Liam wraps an arm around Zayn's shoulder and presses him flush against his side, kissing his warm forehead. 

"Well I'd go because I'm gonna be fine," he replies, grinning down at Zayn as he gives him one more peck on the lips before Zayn even has the chance to protest. 

**The following week**  


Liam opens his apartment door in nothing but his sweats and a pair of socks, eyes narrowing slightly at the boy standing on the other side of it. 

"One word Malik and I swear I'll leave you out there alone."

**Author's Note:**

> :D


End file.
